Sclerosis: symptoms, treatment, prevention. What causes this disease?

Most people mistakenly believe that sclerosis is a disease of old age, accompanied by temporary memory loss. This is far from true. There are various types of sclerosis, which reflect the state of the internal organs and systems of the human body. In fact, this is not even a disease, but a symptom of a pathological process already occurring in the body.

In medical language, this term refers to the replacement of parts of internal organs with connective tissue. Accordingly, such phenomena can affect any internal organs and systems of a person. Science knows several types of pathology that need to be covered in more detail.

General information

Sclerosis is a medical term used to define the process of replacing organ parenchyma with denser connective tissue.
Sclerosis is not an independent disease, but a manifestation of other underlying ailments. The reasons for this phenomenon in the body can be a variety of processes: blood circulation disorders, inflammation, changes that occur in the human body due to age.

Sclerosis can develop in different organs. Thus, with cardiosclerosis, changes occur in the heart, with atherosclerosis - in the walls of blood vessels, with nephrosclerosis - in the kidneys, with pneumosclerosis - in the lungs, etc.

What drugs are used to treat systemic sclerosis?

Antibiotics:

• penicillins,
• fusidine sodium - 500 mg three times a day for 2-3 weeks;
• cuprenil - 150 mg per day, the dose is gradually increased to 1500-1800 mg per day, and after 2 weeks - gradually reduced to 300-600 mg per day, treatment duration - 2-3 years.

Corticosteroids:

• prednisolone - 30-40 mg per day for 2-4 weeks with a gradual dose reduction. A

Anticoagulants:

• Complamin - intramuscularly, at a dose of 0.3-0.6 g 1-3 times a day;
• mydocalm - starting with 50 mg 2-3 times a day, gradually increasing the dose to 150 mg 2-3 times a day;
• doxium - prescribed individually;
• heparin - prescribed individually.

NSAIDs:

• indomethacin - 25 mg 2-3 times a day, if necessary, the daily dose can be increased to 100 mg, divided into 4 doses;
• naproxen - at the beginning of treatment and in acute conditions, 500-1000 mg per day in 2 divided doses (morning and evening), the maintenance dose is 500 mg per day in 1 or 2 divided doses;
• diclofenac sodium - 25-50 mg 2-3 times a day.

Antimalarial:

• delagil - prescribed individually;
• Plaquenil - minimum effective doses are indicated, not exceeding 6.5 mg/kg per day (calculated based on “ideal” rather than actual body weight) and can be either 200 or 400 mg per day.

Causes of multiple sclerosis

The exact causes of the development of multiple sclerosis are still not known. Experts talk about the autoimmune nature of the disease. It is the central nervous system that controls the functioning of all systems and organs of the human body. It consists of the brain and spinal cord. Due to the autoimmune nature of the disease, the immune system attacks the body's own cells. Consequently, in multiple sclerosis, cells in the spinal cord and brain are affected.

But there are other theories about the occurrence of this disease in humans. Consequently, doctors tend to consider multiple sclerosis as a polyetiological disease .
This means that the cause of the disease is a combination of several factors. We are talking about a malfunction of the immune system, external influences, infectious diseases, as well as genetic disposition.

Types of this disease and photos

Each type of sclerosis has its own characteristic signs and symptoms. What is another name for sclerosis?

Absent-minded

It is a chronic condition that eventually leads to disability. How long do patients with multiple sclerosis live? Life expectancy for this disease is short, and the onset of the disease can be observed at an early age.
On average, this is from 15 to 40 years; in children and the elderly, this pathology is observed less frequently. With this form of sclerosis, a whole complex of symptoms occurs, which has been called “hot bath” syndrome. The patient's condition begins to deteriorate while taking a bath.

Symptoms will depend on the location of the lesion:

1. In the cerebrospinal form, the spinal cord and brain are affected. This type of multiple sclerosis occurs in 95% of patients.
2. The cerebral form affects the white matter of the brain.
3. Spinal sclerosis affects the spinal cord, in which the chest is primarily affected.

Watch a video about the first signs and symptoms of multiple sclerosis:

Lateral amyotrophic

The disease goes by several names: Charcot's disease, motor neuron disease, ALS. This is an idiopathic neurodegenerative progressive pathology of unknown origin, inevitably leading to the death of the patient. The main age limits for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis are from 40 to 60 years. In childhood, the disease practically does not occur and predominates in men.

Important! Over time, a person loses all motor abilities, and after the respiratory muscles atrophy, death occurs.

Brain vessels

Another name for the disease is atherosclerosis. This is a chronic pathology, which is often associated with age-related changes in the human body. The pathology gradually damages the vascular system in the brain.

The pathogenesis of the disease involves the gradual formation of an increased amount of cholesterol, a substance similar to fat, on the walls of the arteries. At first, a person’s character deteriorates. He becomes irritable, whiny and apathetic.

As the disease progresses, a person's coordination of movement is impaired, tremors of the limbs appear, and sensitivity is lost. After this, mental disorders are clearly visible, the face may become distorted, mental abilities decrease, many elderly people get lost in familiar places, do not recognize loved ones, etc.

Subchondral endplates

It is not a disease, but a characteristic sign of some joint pathologies. It is detected on x-rays. Subchondral sclerosis can develop as a result of osteochondrosis and other diseases of the articular part of the body. If measures are not taken in a timely manner, a person’s movements will be limited, and in some cases this will lead to disability.

Senile

There is no such concept in the medical literature. This is a stable expression in the Russian language, characterizing memory lapses. Such diseases include late-life dementia, which is associated with vascular (cerebral atherosclerosis), atrophic (Alzheimer's disease) or mixed changes.

Tuberose

This pathology belongs to the phacomatous type, in which many organs and tissues are affected. In this case, benign tumors are formed.
Due to the different specifics of the course of this type of sclerosis, diagnosing it at an early stage is very problematic. Tuberous sclerosis often occurs in childhood and adolescence. The disease manifests itself through the formation of tumors throughout the body - hamartomas. They consist of the same tissues as the organ on which they arise, but have abnormal cells in their structure. The main location of hamartoma is the brain, skin, kidneys and eyes.

Symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis

The symptoms of multiple sclerosis are varied, and different combinations of them are possible. Speaking about the symptoms of the disease and explaining to the patient what it is, doctors identify more than 50 different signs of the disease that can manifest themselves in each individual case. Depending on certain features of the course of the disease and the person’s conditions ( pregnancy , concomitant illness), the severity and duration of such symptoms are determined.

When diagnosing the disease, most often the most common symptoms of multiple sclerosis are determined. We are talking about a depressive state, constant fatigue, a feeling of numbness or tingling in the arms and legs. Bladder and bowel dysfunction , various sexual dysfunctions , dizziness , periodic tremors and pain , ataxia , cognitive impairment , and vision problems are also noted . However, all these signs may indicate other diseases, so it is impossible to diagnose a patient with “multiple sclerosis” solely on the basis of identifying symptoms.

The life expectancy of people with this disease directly depends on timely diagnosis and the correct approach to treatment. If the patient does everything strictly according to the doctor’s recommendations, then his life expectancy is normal.

Risk factors

Risk factors include:

1. Sclerosis is said to not be inherited. But genetic predisposition increases the risk of developing the disease, especially if direct line relatives in the family suffered from this disease.
2. Geographic factors - that is, there are places on earth where living in increases the risk of developing sclerosis. For example, areas with a temperate climate predispose to the development of multiple sclerosis.
3. Stress is often a provocateur of the development of cardiovascular diseases and pathologies such as atherosclerosis.
4. Smoking - this bad habit can affect the development of the disease, especially atherosclerosis.
5. Age-related changes - many types of sclerosis appear in a person only after 45 years.
6. Vaccination against hepatitis B. There is still controversy on this issue.
7. Uric acid levels may influence the development of atherosclerosis. Since a high content of this substance in the body leads to obesity, and, consequently, to cardiovascular diseases.

The life expectancy of people with sclerosis varies. With some types it lasts up to 20 years, while other forms of the disease can significantly reduce this threshold. But these data may not be representative of all people. Everything will depend on the stage at which sclerosis treatment is started, how correctly the diagnosis is made and whether qualified assistance is provided to the patient.

Therefore, refuse self-medication for such a dangerous disease as atherosclerosis or multiple sclerosis. With maintenance therapy, periods of exacerbations can be reduced to a minimum, and a person’s quality of life will not change.

Diagnostics

Diagnosing multiple sclerosis is not easy, as its symptoms are common to many other diseases. There is currently no diagnostic method for accurately determining multiple sclerosis. Therefore, if there is a suspicion of this disease, a complex of research methods is used. First of all, the doctor studies the medical history and conducts a neurological examination. The patient is prescribed an MRI and lumbar puncture. To exclude other diseases, a laboratory blood test is practiced.

Classification of the disease

Sclerosis is classified depending on how much the disease has damaged the nervous system and which organs are affected:

• Multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune disease in which, under attack from one’s own blood cells, the protective myelin sheath of nerve fibers is destroyed and their conductivity is disrupted. The following clinical forms of this disease are distinguished:

— stem;

- cerebrospinal;

— optical;

- spinal;

- cerebellar.

Treatment

When discussing the treatment of multiple sclerosis, patients are primarily interested in how curable multiple sclerosis is. Currently, there is not a single case of complete cure for this disease. But the use of preventive therapy makes it possible to delay the development of new symptoms, and also significantly reduce the number and frequency of relapses of the disease. In this case, immunomodulatory agents, monoclonal antibody drugs, and chemotherapy are actively used.

When determining a plan for how to treat multiple sclerosis in an individual case, the doctor takes into account the specific symptoms of the disease and prescribes exactly the medicine for multiple sclerosis that can alleviate their manifestation. However, for symptoms of multiple sclerosis, not only pills for a specific manifestation are used. If the patient goes to a specialized medical center, he is also prescribed physiotherapeutic methods of therapy, as well as a specially designed diet . Supportive treatment with folk remedies can also be practiced. Thanks to the constant work of researchers on the problem of treating multiple sclerosis, something new in the treatment of the disease regularly appears.

When the disease relapses, patients are often prescribed large doses of corticosteroids, which reduces the duration of the relapse.

Doctors are very careful about making predictions about the course of multiple sclerosis. But there are statistics that indicate that the prognosis is more favorable if the disease began before the age of 35; a woman is sick; the intervals between illnesses are long; After relapses, complete recovery occurs.

With multiple sclerosis, it is important to avoid infections, since even an acute respiratory infection can provoke an exacerbation of the disease. Patients should not be allowed to overheat, become overtired , or eat too much. Stress also has a negative impact on the patient's condition.

Prevention

The development of sclerosis can be prevented or slowed by following certain recommendations. You need to adhere to a healthy lifestyle. In order to prevent the disease, the following measures have been developed:

• You need to follow a diet, eat a balanced diet, and exclude cholesterol-rich foods.
• It is recommended to give up smoking and alcohol abuse.
• Moderate physical activity is good for health, a sedentary lifestyle and excessive stress are contraindicated.
• It is necessary to regularly visit doctors, report any ailments, and take blood and urine tests.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is also called motor neuron disease. This is a disease of the nervous system that has a progressive chronic nature, during which central and peripheral motor neurons are selectively affected. In this condition, a person experiences increasing weakness of the shoulder and pelvic girdle, bulbar muscles, trunk and abdominal muscles, while the extraocular muscles and sphincters of the pelvic organs are affected to a lesser extent. Treatment of the disease is carried out continuously, in courses.

As a rule, the disease occurs sporadically; familial cases occur rarely. A person can get sick at any age, but more often the disease develops in people after 50 years of age.

It is believed that the disease is caused by a virus. The disease develops slowly, sometimes a person does not notice its onset. First of all, weakness of the distal parts of the arms gradually develops, and difficulty speaking may occur. Later, the specialist discovers the presence of atrophy and paresis of the small muscles of the distal segments of the arms. Gradually, there is a progression of paresis and atrophy, which can spread to the muscles of other parts of the body. In addition to these signs, the patient has symptoms that indicate damage to the pyramidal system.

Over time, the patient develops problems with swallowing, articulation, and phonation. They gradually become more pronounced. The tongue has limited movement and atrophy. The patient does not have a pharyngeal reflex; constant salivation occurs due to the inability to swallow saliva.

If there is weakness in the neck muscles, the patient's head may droop and movement is limited. Over time, facial and chewing muscles weaken. A person has a lower jaw and it becomes difficult for him to chew. Involuntary laughter and crying are also possible.

Doctors distinguish three types of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: bulbar , cervicothoracic , lumbosacral . The disease is always progressive.

Diagnosis of the disease includes determining the presence of characteristic symptoms. The patient also undergoes electromyography, the data of which can confirm damage to the cells of the anterior horns of the spinal cord. To clarify the diagnosis, MRI of the cervical spine and myelography are performed.

Existing methods of therapy to this day do not completely cure the disease. Patients should be regularly monitored by several doctors of different specialties. Patients are prescribed to take riluzone , vitamin E , and B vitamins . Treatment with nootropic drugs , ATP , and anabolic hormones . To improve neuromuscular conduction, treatment with dibazole , prozerin , and oxazil . The use of other drugs and light massage sessions of the limbs is also practiced.

The disease can last from two to ten years, and the prognosis is unfavorable. The patient dies from paralysis of the respiratory center, exhaustion, and intercurrent infections. If a person also has bulbar disorders, he can live no more than two years.

Stages

The severity of multiple sclerosis is determined by the EDSS , which measures the strength of neurological symptoms. The minimum indicator of this scale (0) corresponds to a neurologically conditionally healthy person. With an EDSS value of 1.0 to 4.5, patients with multiple sclerosis have the ability to self-care, and with an EDSS value of 7 or more, complete loss of motor ability occurs.

Which doctor should I contact? Doctors who treat sclerosis are called neurologists; these specialists have in-depth knowledge in the field of diagnosing and treating pathologies and processes affecting the central and peripheral nervous system.

Sclerosis of cerebral vessels

Sclerosis of cerebral vessels ( cerebral atherosclerosis ) is a disease that occurs relatively frequently. In the process of its development, damage to vessels of the muscular-elastic type occurs. In this case, pockets of lipid deposits gradually form in the inner lining of blood vessels in the brain. They can be either single or multiple. As the disease develops, the vessel gradually becomes deformed and narrows. Sometimes complete obliteration of the vessel occurs. As a consequence, there is a chronic, slowly increasing lack of supply to the organ that is fed through the brain vessel affected by sclerosis.

Most often, the symptoms of this disease, as well as damage to the blood vessels of the lower extremities, appear in people after the age of twenty, but the disease is most common among people over the age of 50.

As a rule, the manifestation of the disease is determined by a hereditary factor. However, the disease begins to develop under the influence of factors that stimulate its manifestations. These are too frequent psycho-emotional stress , diabetes mellitus , arterial hypertension , alimentary obesity , physical inactivity , and smoking .

Symptoms of the disease can be different and depend on where the disease is localized and where the process spreads. Diagnosis is based on the presence of damage to individual vessels.

To treat the disease, methods are used to stop the progression of the disease, as well as to activate the development of circulatory blood flow pathways.

As a therapy, it is practiced to ensure regular muscle activity, for which special exercises are used. Particular attention is paid to the patient’s nutrition. His diet should contain equal amounts of vegetable and animal fats, since weight gain with this disease is undesirable. If a person already has excess weight , then he should get rid of it.

In addition, it is important to provide systematic treatment of diseases that accompany sclerosis. A sharp drop in blood sugar, as well as a drop in blood pressure, should not be allowed.

Motor Neurone Disease

This is also called amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. It selectively affects peripheral and central motor neurons, which manifests itself:

• in increasing weakness of the pelvic and shoulder girdle, abdominal and torso muscles;
• damage to the bulbar muscles of the tongue, pharynx, larynx and palate paresis;
• in decreased or increased reflexes;
• in spontaneous and irregular contractions of muscle fiber bundles of individual muscles or their groups;
• speech disorder.

Lateral sclerosis in most cases develops in patients after 50 years of age, although this disease can affect a person of any age. Experts distinguish the following types:

Subchondral sclerosis

Subchondral sclerosis is a disease that affects the joints. As the disease progresses, articular cartilage degenerates, resulting in changes in the articular surface. The incidence of the disease increases markedly with age. Subchondral sclerosis is divided into primary and secondary forms. In the first case, the cause of the disease is severe overload of the spine, while the disease develops in healthy cartilage. In the second case, the disease develops on previously injured cartilage, which has been negatively affected due to injury, arthritis or the influence of other disorders.

Subchondral sclerosis of the endplates of the vertebral bodies often occurs when a person develops osteochondrosis or spondylitis . It is important to conduct a competent diagnosis and prescribe timely treatment for the disease. Various methods of therapy are practiced, but if the disease is too advanced, the doctor may decide on surgical intervention.

Sclerosis of the prostate, lungs

In addition to the types of sclerosis described above, patients are often diagnosed with sclerosis of the prostate or lungs . In the first case, there is a gradual sclerotic degeneration of the prostate gland, which develops as a result of the inflammatory process. During the development of this disease, elasticity is lost and the patency of the vesico-urethral segment is impaired. This, in turn, leads to chronic urinary retention. In most cases, this disease is preceded by chronic prostatitis. The disease relatively often affects young men.

Pulmonary sclerosis ( pneumosclerosis ) is the process of proliferation of connective tissue in the lungs, which ultimately leads to impaired lung function. The disease often develops as a consequence of tuberculosis, acute and prolonged pneumonia. Cardiogenic pneumosclerosis is distinguished, which is diagnosed in people suffering from prolonged congestion due to damage to the myocardium, aorta, and heart defects.

Tuberous sclerosis

Tuberous sclerosis is also called Bourneville's disease . The name of the disease contains the Latin word tuber, which means “growth”, “tumor”. This is a rare disease of a genetic nature, during the development of which benign formations appear in various organs. Due to the very wide range of varied symptoms, the disease is multisystem in nature. If tumors arise in the brain, the patient may develop epilepsy and decrease in intelligence. When internal organs are damaged, a variety of signs of the disease appear. When making the initial diagnosis, the appearance of characteristic neoplasms in the fundus and facial skin is important.

As a rule, this disease manifests itself in children in the first year of life. They experience skin lesions, epileptic seizures and intellectual impairment. Often these signs are also accompanied by hydrocephalus . As the child ages, seizures become more frequent, and the decline in intelligence progresses. Patients with this diagnosis live no more than 25 years. After the diagnosis is established, they are prescribed symptomatic therapy, aimed mainly at stopping epileptic seizures. It is important to ensure a continuous treatment process.

In common parlance there is also the expression “ senile sclerosis ”. It is used when talking about a variety of memory impairments in older people. But in fact, there is no such disease, and the expression, obviously, comes from the term “cerebral atherosclerosis,” that is, atherosclerosis of the brain vessels, in which dementia in older people.

How does it manifest?

Signs of multiple sclerosis in 50% of cases of the disease are disturbances in the functions of the musculoskeletal system (muscle weakness, impaired coordination of movements). Changes in the sensitivity of the limbs (numbness, ossification). Sometimes there are visual disturbances, difficulty walking, accidental urination, fatigue, and sexual dysfunction. In the later stages of the disease, a decrease in intelligence is observed.

Signs of the course of sclerosis depend on the location of the focus of demyelination. Therefore, symptoms vary from patient to patient and are often unpredictable. The first signs of the disease are the result of demyelination, which causes disruption of the passage of electrical impulses through nerve synapses.

In children

• Convulsions occur.
• Mood swings.
• Hearing impairment.
• Malfunction of internal organs.
• Spontaneous paralysis of the limbs.

In men and women

• Vision decreases to 0.1 and below.
• Speech is impaired and dyslexia may develop.
• The strength of muscle contractions gradually decreases until complete immobility.
• Dysfunction of the musculoskeletal system.
• In particularly severe cases, spontaneous release of urine and feces occurs.

In older people

All of the above symptoms are complemented by:

• dementia;
• Alzheimer's disease;
• memory loss.

At first, memory loss is short-term, in small segments, but over time these segments increase.

List of sources

• Schmidt T.E., Yakhno N.N. Multiple sclerosis. M.: MEDpress-inform; 2010;
• Korkina, M.V. Mental disorders in multiple sclerosis / M.V. Korkina, Yu.S. Martynov. G. F. Malkov. - M.: Publishing house UDN, 1986;
• Multiple sclerosis and other demyelinating diseases. Ed. E.I. Guseva, I.A. Zavalishina, A.N. Boyko. M.: Miklos. 2004;
• Gusev E.I., Boyko A.N. Multiple sclerosis: from studying immunopathogenesis to new treatment methods. M. 2001;
• Yakhno N.N., Shtulman D.R. Diseases of the nervous system: a guide for doctors in 2 volumes. M.: Medicine, 2001.

Bibliography

1. Krotenkova M.V., Kugoev A.I., Konovalov R.N., Trifanova V.A., Zavalishin I.A., Peresedova A.V. Magnetic resonance imaging
2. Ashburner J., Friston KJ Voxel-based morphometry - the methods. Neuro Image 2000; 11: 805-821.
3. Yudina E.N., Konovalov R.N., Abramycheva N.Yu., Klyushnikov S.A., Illarioshkin S.N. Experience in the use of MRI morphometry in Huntington's disease. Annals clin and experiment neurol 2013; 7:4:16-19.
4. Voronkov L.V., Trufanov A.G., Fokin V.A., Litvinenko I.V., Odinak M.M., Efimtsev A.Yu., Khaimov D.A., Bisaga G.N. Possibilities of voxel-based morphometry in the diagnosis of non-tumor brain diseases. Vestn Ros military-med acad 2012; eleven.
5. D'Hooghe MB et al. Modifiable factors influencing relapses and disability in multiple sclerosis. Mult Scler 2010;16:773–85.